The Seattle Times

August 6, 2004

Christopher Schwarzen and Jennifer Sullivan

MONROE — A man who last night shot and killed his 5-year-old grandson before turning the gun on himself suffered from depression and previously alluded to hurting himself, Monroe Police Chief Tim Quenzer said. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Roy Bryan Hetherwick, 58, and the boy as Roy Brennan Hetherwick, 5.

According to Hetherwick’s wife, Quenzer said, Hetherwick took medication for depression but had never talked of injuring the child. In a release issued this afternoon, Monroe police said officers responded to the house on July 2, when they found Hetherwick “despondent and feeling suicidal.” He was taken voluntarily to Valley General Hospital for a mental-health evaluation.

At about 6:35 p.m. last night, Hetherwick pulled into the Monroe Police Department parking lot, got out of the car, yelled something inaudible and began firing. Both he and the boy died after being shot in the head, according to police. A police support-staff member saw the shooting, Quenzer said.

Hetherwick left a note on the windshield that said he didn’t believe he could take care of the child anymore and didn’t think any other family member could either, Quenzer said. Hetherwick and his wife live in unincorporated Snohomish County near Monroe and were in the process of adopting the boy. The woman said the child’s parents are separated and live somewhere in Texas, but she didn’t have their addresses, Quenzer said.